How to Avoid Getting Scammed When Donating to Disaster Victims

While your heart might want to help disaster victims in Japan or elsewhere, Better Business Bureau officials say that you should also keep your mind on your wallet.

Natural disasters bring out con artists and schemers, Cindy Dudley, director of Business Services for the BBB, said in a recent statement that bears repeating.

"People want to help and often feel that charities with the name of the disaster are an express way to channel funds directly to the victim," she said.